Are male and female marathoners created equal?

Jill Barker, Postmedia News03.09.2013

Paula Radcliffe (pictured), the women's world-record holder in the marathon, is pictured in a file photo. Even the improved opportunity for women in sport in the past four decades can't overcome the basic physiological differences between male and female athletes.

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MONTREAL — There has been no Billy Jean King versus Bobby Riggs moment in marathon running, but if you have ever wondered what would happen in a battle of the sexes marathon style, a study out of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., will feed your curiosity.

Female athletes have come a long way since 1973, when King, then 29, accepted the challenge from Riggs, 55, to a match on the tennis court (King won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3). But even the improved opportunity for women in sport in the past four decades can’t overcome the basic physiological differences between male and female athletes.

Men have more muscle mass, less body fat, bigger hearts and a greater ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles, which is why, for marathon running at least, scientists estimate that elite male marathoners are nine per cent to 10 per cent faster than the elite women’s pack.

In theory, that gap in time should be similar for all ages of marathoners, as age slows both men and women equally. Yet, Marquette University’s study proved otherwise.

The researchers reviewed the times of the Top 10 finishers in each age group of the New York City Marathon over a 31-year span (1980-2010). Times were evaluated in five-year increments from the age of 20-79.

Over those three decades, the number of marathon finishers increased significantly from 12,294 in 1980 to 44,794 in 2010, with the largest group of finishers in the 30-50 age group. More men than women crossed the finish line, but the ratio of men-to-women finishers decreased from 6.76 in 1980 to 1.97 in 2003, a number that stayed relatively static to 2010.

Not only did more women take up marathon running during that time, they also narrowed the gap in speed between the two sexes. The winning men’s times were almost 20 per cent faster than those of the female winners in 1980 to 1985 and just 12.6 per cent faster in 2006 to 2010. The quickest female runners were in the 30-34 age group with their best times equivalent to the fastest time of males 45 to 49 years of age.

Among the top 10 finishers of both sexes, speed started to decline significantly after age 35, with the first-place finishers losing an average of one minute and 36 seconds per year (eight minutes and three seconds every five years) from the age of 40 to 79. Among the mid to back packers, that decline in speed didn’t start until about age 55.

Most of these stats aren’t that surprising. Middle-age runners have flocked to marathons in the last couple of decades and experience combined with improved technique and training can overcome age-related declines in performance among recreational runners — especially among those who are new to endurance racing.

As for women, their participation in marathons, at both the elite and recreational level, was limited until the women’s race was added to the Olympics in 1984. Until that time, the marathon was considered too strenuous for women, a theory that has been proven wrong with the growing number of women who continue to register and safely compete in marathons around the world.

What was novel about the results of this study is that the physiological-related gap in speed between genders didn’t remain constant over all age groups. Instead, it consistently increased with age, with the smallest gender differences in the 30-34 age group and the largest in the 75-79-year-olds.

Also interesting is that the differences in times between the Top 10 finishers was greater in women than men, a trend that remained consistent among all age groups and all years.

These statistics troubled the researchers who felt that men and women marathoners reached their athletic peak at about the same age (29) and that they aged physiologically at the same rate. Therefore, the gender-related gap in speed should hold constant through all age groups. They went on to speculate that this unusual disparity in speed is due to women’s late entry into the marathon field. With fewer marathoners than their male counterparts, many of whom didn’t benefit from good coaching and an opportunity to compete at high levels of sport, women have yet to reach their genetic potential in the field of marathon running.

“We predict that, as the number of women competitors who have benefitted from Title IX gradually increases among older age groups, new running records will be set and will approach the physiological potential of all women,” the study’s authors said.

Title IX was a landmark decision in the United States that obligated colleges to offer a similar purse of athletic scholarships to men and women (Canada followed the example set by the U.S., but without the need for legislation). Instituted in 1972, it is largely credited with improving the opportunity, through better coaching, facilities and competition, of women to achieve their athletic potential.

What this means for the average female marathoner is that your best races are still ahead of you. This is especially true for women in their mid- to late 40s, many of whom are only now realizing their potential as competitive athletes.

So while we know that elite women marathoners can’t compete physiologically with their age-matched male counterparts, we aren’t saying no to a race between the best female marathoners in the world and their race-pace matched middle-age male counterparts. Let the best man/woman win.

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